What did you grow up to be?

[shortkut]

Not to be some sort of child-hating jerkface, but kids don’t know a lot. IMO culturally we propagate this notion of “having a dream”, but I don’t think that this is helpful or meaningful precisely because it’s bloody difficult, and can set you up for a real fall.

I agree with this. Having kids think about what they want to be when they grow up shouldn’t be to have them set a goal that they need to achieve. It should be to help them narrow down the general areas that interest them. As they learn more, those interests are bound to change or evolve.

I myself went from wanting to be a zoo keeper (I clearly remember bringing this up in school at age 7 and being laughed at) to wanting to be a veterinarian (high school) to finally becoming a pharmacist. Each was related to the previous one, yet completely different. Not a failure for not meeting the initial goal

 

[Mark]

For sure.

It was oddly similar work to what I've ended up doing as a career... Managing systems through control panels, querying and modifying data with SQL, modifying and writing processes for an operations team, finding strategies to combat bad actors. The only differences are that it's transaction monitoring instead of post monitoring, and I have done my best to never again manage people _myself_.

GameWinners, the Internet's vocational preparation center.

Oh yeah, it definitely helped set me up for being good at being a dick to people when necessary. My claim to fame in the repo business was my ability to show up to a shit show of a repo, shut the issue down, and resolve it in a timely manner. Alternatively, it also gave me an empathetic ability to review every incident on a case by case basis.

Not to be some sort of child-hating jerkface, but kids don’t know a lot. IMO culturally we propagate this notion of “having a dream”, but I don’t think that this is helpful or meaningful precisely because it’s bloody difficult, and can set you up for a real fall.

Maybe I say this because I was extremely confused as to what to do with myself up until, like, 3 years ago and I’m surprised that anyone ever had any idea… I don’t know. But that just seems like a lot of pressure to choose something based on essentially no evidence.

I’m sorry it turned out so painful. :-( I don’t know your current situation, but humans are remarkably resilient, and everyone has strengths. Failing to fill a niche within an externally-set narrative doesn’t strike me as failure at all.

Well said. I know PLENTY of people that didn’t even find their niche until years after military service. Think of it this way, @Pun Damage … when you enlist, unless you miraculously land in a role that’ll transition you to a career you’re interested in… you’re essentially putting all of those aspirations (even if you have none) on standby while you’re following directives from others.

I agree with this. Having kids think about what they want to be when they grow up shouldn’t be to have them set a goal that they need to achieve. It should be to help them narrow down the general areas that interest them. As they learn more, those interests are bound to change or evolve.

I myself went from wanting to be a zoo keeper (I clearly remember bringing this up in school at age 7 and being laughed at) to wanting to be a veterinarian (high school) to finally becoming a pharmacist. Each was related to the previous one, yet completely different. Not a failure for not meeting the initial goal

Exactly. If you asked 5 year old me what I wanted to be, it was a cop because I loved watching shows like Cops and Code Blue back then. If you asked me when I was 10, I wanted to be a scientist. By 14 I wanted to be a guitarist. By 15 I was doing upholstery. By 25 I was a repo man, with an opportunity to be a cop by 30 that I turned down (for obvious reasons). I know people OLDER than us that have shifted careers multiple times.

 

[Nae'blis]

I agree with this. Having kids think about what they want to be when they grow up shouldn’t be to have them set a goal that they need to achieve. It should be to help them narrow down the general areas that interest them. As they learn more, those interests are bound to change or evolve.

I myself went from wanting to be a zoo keeper (I clearly remember bringing this up in school at age 7 and being laughed at) to wanting to be a veterinarian (high school) to finally becoming a pharmacist. Each was related to the previous one, yet completely different. Not a failure for not meeting the initial goal

My ten year old daughter wants to be a singing, ballet dancing veterinarian at the moment, and goddamnit I love her for that. But I can totally see her working in either of those fields.

As for myself, I wanted to be a fireman or a cop when I was a kid. In my teens I was going to be a chef like my dad. I also had a period as a kid wanting to be an intergalactic space president. Still kinda do..

 

[Boots]

IMO culturally we propagate this notion of “having a dream”, but I don’t think that this is helpful or meaningful precisely because it’s bloody difficult, and can set you up for a real fall.

Maybe I say this because I was extremely confused as to what to do with myself up until, like, 3 years ago and I’m surprised that anyone ever had any idea… I don’t know. But that just seems like a lot of pressure to choose something based on essentially no evidence.

I just kind of went with the flow after college. I got into a random desk job via a temp firm in 2008. No health insurance, and a pay cut from working in a restaurant. I just focused on putting 1 foot in front of the other, living day by day. I wound up in an industry I never would have chosen, and it's actually a great fit working with engineers. I worked my way up into a more career-centric role, but I could have just as easily been laid off or fired again and had to start from the bottom in another industry. Everyone has setbacks.

My SO never went to college or military. He was smart but couldn't be bothered to try in highschool. Teachers told him he was wasted potential. But when your parent dies in front of you when you're 14, getting good grades falls off on the list of priorities. He did customer service, restaurant, and construction work for years, making crap money and struggling. He almost got car jacked in Detroit, but smashed the guy's face in with a truck door. He almost stepped off a roof once things were that bleak.

But as a hobby he's been into computers since childhood. And on a whim in his late 20s a friend gave him an opportunity to work a low-paying call center job for a MSP (Managed Service Provider). They took calls for the home shopping network type computer support. That job lead to another similar job at another MSP fixing computers on-site. It paid a bit more but still not much. He'd drive to optometrist offices, pickle factories, anywhere they sent him. Then he was laid off and it took him another year to find work. Through a friend of a friend he managed to get his resume into the right hands and get an interview. Pretty basic entry level IT helpdesk job but in a corporate environment. Pay was low but still better than the previous 2 jobs, and he was apprehensive about working in a corporate environment. It was barnyard IT and that first year was spent bringing a company from 1999 kicking and screaming into 2019 and Windows 10. The hard work paid off and he got a 20% raise. The same thing happened the next year and then a promotion and another big raise. He went from making $40k to $95k base + bonus with a manager title. Up for another raise in a month or two.

The theme seems to be to find a company that appreciates your hard work and rewards you. He found it in his 30s. I found that in my late 20s with consistent raises and bonuses. I took a $10k pay bump just starting the job. In 8.5 years, I've gone from $48k to $73k plus stock that's consistently going up. I rarely work overtime and I'm still hourly so if I need to it's worth it.

I'm not trying to brag. Things fluctuate. Some years are harder than others. Just keep trying.

 

[Olga]

I just kind of went with the flow after college. I got into a random desk job via a temp firm in 2008. No health insurance, and a pay cut from working in a restaurant. I just focused on putting 1 foot in front of the other, living day by day. I wound up in an industry I never would have chosen, and it's actually a great fit working with engineers. I worked my way up into a more career-centric role, but I could have just as easily been laid off or fired again and had to start from the bottom in another industry. Everyone has setbacks.

My SO never went to college or military. He was smart but couldn't be bothered to try in highschool. Teachers told him he was wasted potential. But when your parent dies in front of you when you're 14, getting good grades falls off on the list of priorities. He did customer service, restaurant, and construction work for years, making crap money and struggling. He almost got car jacked in Detroit, but smashed the guy's face in with a truck door. He almost stepped off a roof once things were that bleak.

But as a hobby he's been into computers since childhood. And on a whim in his late 20s a friend gave him an opportunity to work a low-paying call center job for a MSP (Managed Service Provider). They took calls for the home shopping network type computer support. That job lead to another similar job at another MSP fixing computers on-site. It paid a bit more but still not much. He'd drive to optometrist offices, pickle factories, anywhere they sent him. Then he was laid off and it took him another year to find work. Through a friend of a friend he managed to get his resume into the right hands and get an interview. Pretty basic entry level IT helpdesk job but in a corporate environment. Pay was low but still better than the previous 2 jobs, and he was apprehensive about working in a corporate environment. It was barnyard IT and that first year was spent bringing a company from 1999 kicking and screaming into 2019 and Windows 10. The hard work paid off and he got a 20% raise. The same thing happened the next year and then a promotion and another big raise. He went from making $40k to $95k base + bonus with a manager title. Up for another raise in a month or two.

The theme seems to be to find a company that appreciates your hard work and rewards you. He found it in his 30s. I found that in my late 20s with consistent raises and bonuses. I took a $10k pay bump just starting the job. In 8.5 years, I've gone from $48k to $73k plus stock that's consistently going up. I rarely work overtime and I'm still hourly so if I need to it's worth it.

I'm not trying to brag. Things fluctuate. Some years are harder than others. Just keep trying.

I’m really glad things have worked out for you. That is AWESOME. I struggle with most employment, and bloody hell, I’m so glad that people out there actually enjoy what they do. It’s great that you’ve found a good match for your abilities and personalities.

 

[Marlfox]

I’m an environmental guru for a construction company. They decided one person with environmental compliance and sustainability training would be enough to cover the business. One person to cover hundreds of sites in the UK and Ireland. So any time someone at one of our hundreds of sites finds something they haven’t dealt with before, whether it be a serious oil leak or an injured animal or a nesting bird or a waste problem or an energy improvement idea or a way to reduce plastic or a complaint about bird poop… they come to me and I google answers for them. Err I mean, I use my deep deep knowledge and experience to give a detailed and practical solution.

It’s a good job. Best part is when I can prevent pollution or push a site into doing something that lowers its carbon footprint. I get to work from home and pick how often I travel. Workload isn’t as mad as you might think, I got fast at the repetitiive reporting tasks which lowered the time I had to spend on them. Now and again I visit business sites to do environmental wanders or meet the needs of corporate compliance/audit stuff. When I have time, I try to find allies at the sites willing to get something positive done, a sustainability improvement or a policy that will raise environmental performance in some way.

Downside is there’s not all that much one person can do to change the trajectory of a massive company with lots of bureaucracy and rules. There’s pushback from people and systems even when it’s a no-brainer improvement idea with no drawbacks. We have net zero carbon targets but they’re a joke and it saddens me a bit. Still, I’m happy if I can make small improvements here and there. Even the environmental moments I share in meetings make small differences over time.

 

[Zell 17]

I work for Bank of America. I'm a monster.